This present invention relates to an auxiliary flue to vent harmful pollutants and contaminants during secondary operations in furnaces. The invention is described in the preferred atmosphere of furnace with bi-directional regenerative burners.
Furnaces have been utilized for centuries for heating objects. The stereotype furnace is an enclosure directly heated by the products of combustion from a burner before discharge of such products through a stack. This furnace serviceably heats anything in the enclosure. This type of furnace is acceptable to persons who do not particularly concern themselves with economies of operation, temperature stabilities or with governmental pollution regulations. However, persons with concerns in these areas cannot tolerate the operating characteristics of stereotype furnaces. With increasing foreign competition it is important that furnaces operate efficiently--and this calls for regenerative or recuperative burners. With ever tightening manufacturing tolerances it is important that the temperature of the furnaces be tightly controlled--and this calls for burners performing as designed. With governmental pollution regulations it is important that furnaces operate reliably and consistently--and this calls for furnaces uniformly meeting of all operating parameters. The stereotype furnace is unable to always meet these requirements due to many factors--one of which is the build-up of pollution and contaminants within the burners, furnace, pollution control equipment and stacks due to secondary treatment manufacturing operations on the material within the furnace. These contaminants also limit the in-service life of furnaces by plugging up the regenerative beds and other parts of the furnace.